Health. Having a child slows brain aging, study finds

Children can be a source of stress for parents. But they may also be beneficial for the brain, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . Having a child allows parents' brains to maintain brain connections that become less active with age. Networks associated with movement, sensations, and social connections are strengthened in their brains.

“The regions whose functional connectivity decreases with age are those that are associated with increased connectivity when individuals have had children,” said Avram Holmes, lead author of the study and associate professor of psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

This beneficial effect is further strengthened when parents have multiple children. "We observe a generalized pattern of functional impairments, where a greater number of children raised by their parents is associated with increased functional connectivity," the researcher continues.

The social connections that parents maintain with their children and physical activity may help prevent cognitive decline. However, according to the authors, further studies are needed to better understand brain mechanisms. The study analyzed data from more than 37,000 parents (men and women).